Dota 2 Player Count Reaching the Bottom

Despite all the popularity of Dota 2, it has been experiencing a dropping player count since 2014. Its army of active fans has decreased from 700,000 players in 2014 to 400,000 players in 2019.

The Reasons behind This Negative Trend

The Dota 2 community has explained this negative trend by the game specificity. Not every player has enough energy to go through 20 or more sessions and making all the common mistakes. This is especially the case for newcomers who are not ready for the challenge they have to take. In fact, there are lots of things to learn even for experienced players as the game never stays still.

Some players find it hard to survive lengthy matchmaking times. To overcome this feeling, they need to be encouraged to open smurf accounts to boost their chances of leading the game. Valve demonstrates a zero-tolerance policy to these types of accounts. Moreover, beginners will hardly get a good first impression of the game.

Also, the lack of activity in the pro scene is one more nuance of this negative development. With The International taking place till the end of September, the players decide on having some break. As soon as the season will continue to ramp up, you will see how the numbers of active players rise once again.

The Further Development of This Negative Trend

Valve has managed to find a solution for the decreasing player counts. Enthusiasts have suggested that it would take a leaf out of League of Legends' universe, and introduce a forgiving competence curve mode for new players to succeed in the game.

While here is no clear explanation of this negative tendency, there hasn't been a considerable patch since before The International in August. Thus, players will probably be dealing with the same strong heroes in most of their gaming sessions. In a matter of time, this can become a bit repetitive and may result in players' decisions to have a break.

A new patch is about to come within the next several month, as Valve will launch The Outlanders Update after the conclusion of the MDL Chengdu Major. This future event will definitely lead to a spike in player numbers as Dotabet enthusiasts will return to the game to observe new changes and play the new heroes.

No matter how horrible this news sounds, Dota 2 developers have learned to keep the whole situation under control. So, we can only continue following the updates.